Process for extracting the essential principles of hops



Patented Dec. 5 1939 raoonss FOB. EXTRACTING m.- Essa:- 'rmr. PRINCIPLES or nors Lyndon D. Wood, Chicago, 111., assignor'to National Hops Laboratories, Inc., Chieago, 111., a

corporation No Drawing. Application June a. 1931,

. Serial No. 147,141

I 8 Claims. (01. 87+28) The object of this invention is a new process of extracting the essential principles of hops.

. Hops are a necessary ingredient in the makingof all beer and ale, for which no substitute has 5 been found. There are several elements in hop flowers or blossoms whichcontribute to the taste,

aroma, and the preservation of the beer and ale. These are:

First, hop oil-a volatile, aromatic oil contained 10 in small cells or cysts in the individual blossom leaves cf-the hops. The hop oil content of fresh hops is only from 5 to 1% by weight of dried hops. It is supposed to impart to the beer what is known as the hop aroma.

l5 In order to preserve the hops they are partially dehydrated. The heat to which hops are subjected in drying kilns after they are picked,

which varies from. 120 degrees to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, together with the passage of the g warm air through the hops evaporates a considerable portion-of this oil. After drying, the hops are compressed, baled, and stored. In

storage there follows a further evaporation and oxidation of the hop oil. This oxidation of the 25 oil finally results in rancidity, which makes the hops entirely worthless for brewing purposes by imparting the rancid odor to the beer. -A further evaporation of this oil occurs in brewing, so that finally there is very little, if any, aroma of hops o leftin the finished beer.

I have found that the evaporation ofthe hop oil and aroma can .be stopped entirely by the use of certain oilsand solvents. The best solvents for hop oil are acetone, ethyl acetate, va- 35 rions forms of refined petroleum, and some of the products derived from the manufacture of gasoline, such as naphtha, propane, hexane, etc.

The best medium for stopping the evaporation of this hop oil is an oil found within the hop 0 seeds more particularly described hereafter.

I have also found that the rancidity or ob-- 50 the size of clover seed and in domestic hops range in percentage of the entire weight of dried hops' from'2%'to 18%, contain an oil. This oil is a bland, fixed oil, and is found-in the protein content of the seeds. The seeds are covered by I herd horny shells or husks to which quantities ofthe lupulin sometimes adheres. In the process of brewing theseeds are not broken, and this hop seed oil, remains within the seeds and within the husks. I have found that this oil when made available in the hot water of brewing has 5 the peculiar property of adding foam to the beer and retaining it; and that beer which contains a small fraction of this hop seed oil will retain its foam or head much longer than beerwhich contains none of it. I\have also found this oil has a definite aflinity, for the hop oil found in the leaf of the hops, and when liberated from the seed combines with the hop oil taken from the blossom leaves and operates to retard and stop the evaporation of the hop oil. The hop seed oil content of the seed is from to by weight. Dried hops having 10% by weight of hop seeds, therefore',contain about 2 9:, of hop seed oil.

Third, dried, bulk hops contain tannin and 20 tannic acid. This is found in the hops in very small proportions, estimated atfrom 1 to 2 by weight of the dried hops. It is desired in the her because many brewers think it has some preservative qualities. .Tannin is readily 25 soluble in-alcohol and water, and can be extractedfrom the hops blossoms very easily.

Fourth, lupulin. This is a resinous, amorphous substance, originally appearing in the hops blossoms as pollen does in the blossoms of many flowering plants. It has a pronounced bitter flavor which is imparted to the beer in the process of brewing. Lupulin contains resins both hard and soft. The soft resins known as A and B are the ones most valuable in brew- 5 ing, as the hard resins are not entirely soluble in the brewing process. Lupulin hardens as the 7 age of the hops increases. New or fresh hops yield on analysisfrom 12% to 20% of soft resins,

which are readily-soluble in the hot water used 40 in the brewing process. Lupulin'from older hops contains the same amount of resins, but it is found that this resinous content of .the lupulin has hardened to some extent and in the boiling process of brewing, the hops yield only from 6% to 10% of soft resins soluble in the brewing process. Lupulin is only partly soluble in either petrolic ether, alcohol, methanol, high grade gasoline, ethyl acetate,'etc,, and in certain hot,

fatty oils. I have found it almost completely 6 soluble in acetone, and I'believe the use-of acetone.

as a solvent for lupulin, particularly for the hard or gamma resins, which such lupulin contains,

is entirely new.

The present process 'universally followcd in the use of hops in brewing does not release or. liberate any of the hop seed oil contained within the hop seeds. It does not liberate all of the hop oil contained in the cysts of the leaves of the blossoms, nor is any of the hardened lupulin liberated or transmitted into the beer.

The loss in brewing value of the hops under the present process of brewing has been estimated by various brewing engineers at from to 80% of the hop value contained in bulk hops.

In the preparation of hops for extraction purposes it is necessary, in order to liberate the hop seed oil content within the hop seeds and to liberate the hop oil from the small cells of the leaves themselves, that the whole mass be finely pulverized or ground beforesubmitting them to the action of the solvent.

It does not set free or evaporate any of the aromatic hop 011.

My process is essentially as follows:

My first procedure is to suitably prepare the hops by pulverizing them to' a degree of fineness sufiicient to crush all of the seeds which they contain and finely enough so that they will pass a 20 mesh screen or sieve. This may be'done in any one of several types of mills which can be adapted for the work such as a ball mill, plate mill, roller mill, or a cutting mill, or a combination of cutting and hammer mill. The mill should be enclosed so that no air current are present in which the aroma of the hops can be dispersed. From the mill the prepared or pulverized hops should be conveyed to a closed tank or receptacle where the solvent is applied.

When old hops are used in which the lupulin has hardened and particularly those in which a rancid odor'has occurred from the oxidation of hop oil, I employ activated carbon, which may be made from the vegetable, fibrous material of the hops residue after extraction has been made.

This activated carbon may be used in two ways. (a) By mixing it in finely powdered form with the pulverized hops while they are in a dry state.

, When this method is employed ounce of activated carbon will be used to each pound of pulverized hops. The prepared hops should be stirred and shaken until the activated carbon has been thoroughly mixed with them,.then be permitted to stand in a closed container for a period of time not less than two hours. The activated carbon experiments have shown restores the odor of fresh hops. I

(b) Or, the activated carbon may be applied to the liquid extract in which /4 Ounce of acti-' vated carbon is used to each pound of the extract, permitting it to slowly settle and after a period of from two to four hours the carbon may be removed from the extract by filtration or the extract, may be removedfrom the carbon by means of a syphon.

I thenmix with thepowdered hops a solvent, namely, acetone. 3

The amount of solvent applied will depend smewhat upon-the amount of moisture present 'in the dried hops, and also upon their age which affects the percentage of gamma or hardened resins they contain. In general, however, it will be found that one pound of solvent should be applied to one pound of pulverized hops. This application of solvent should be made in a closed I container as the solvent is volatile and in an open evaporation a small fraction of the desirable hop aroma.

The length of time which the pulverized hops should be submitted to the action of the-solvent in the closed container will depend upon the age of the hops and the extent to which the resins in the lupulin have hardened. If the hops are fresh and make a soluble the lupulin. For hops of older growth and those which were subjected to greater heat in drying and storing; the period of time which they would be subjected to the actionof the solvent might be extended to twenty-f0 hours or even longer.

After the hops have been submitted to the action of the solvent for he required period of time, they should be moved in a closed conveyor to a percolator, also closed, for the extraction of a considerable portion of the solvent and extract. This process of percolation may be expedited by the use of vacuum pump if desired.

The extract thus obtained by percolation will contain nearly all of the solvent employed, but will not contain as large percentage or fraction of the resinous lupulin as it will carry. The extract obtainedby this percolation may then be reemployed on another similar portion of pulverized hops, and the process repeated until the solvent has reached the point of saturation which will be indicated by its specific gravity as well as by the degree of its liquidity.

After the pulverized hops have been submitted in this way to the action of the solvent in the tank and in the percolators the hops are then conveyed in a closed container to a press, preferably of the hydraulic type in which suificient pressure is applied to express from the hops all 7 of the extract obtainable, after which 'the residue of hops will be found upon inspection or analysis to contain nothing but vegetable fibrous material and no tannin, oils, or lupulin. This shows that all of the essential principles of the hops have. been entirely extracted.

The press used for this purpose may be either of the hydraulic or the screw or rotary type. I prefer the hydraulic type because the expeller presses develop considerable heat due to the rotary, grinding pressure employed; which results in driving oif further portions of the volatile hop oil. v

In thecommon forms of hydraulic press the usual cage or chamber in such presses for holding and expressing vegetable material are not satisfactory for our purpose. The hops mass submitted to the pressure contains certain portions of air and a considerable portion of liquid extract for which egress must beprovided. When pressure is applied the escaping liquid will raise cage. This also permits the passage of small particles of the pulverized hops with the liquid.

For the purpose of overcoming this dimculty small point of theopening, not more thangs of an inch in diameter, opens into the inner portion of the shell or'cage in which the pressure is applied. The wider opening of or of an inch will be at the outer surface of the shell or cage.

To further facilitate the operation and provide additional egress for theliquid extract, I fit into the bottom of the cage or( shell a copper'wire screen of 200 mesh which will permit thepassage of the liquid extract without permitting any of u the vegetable matter to escape.

I further facilitatethe passage or egress of the liquid extract by the use of a steel plate V inch thick resting upon the bed plate of the press and between it and the steel cage containing the hops. This plate should be sufiicient in width to extend slightly beyond the outer edge of the'cage. n the surface of thisplate, next to the bottom of the cage, I cut a number of channels (twelve or more) radiating from the center of the plate to its outer rim. These channels should be 1 of an inch or more in width and not more than $4; of an inch in depth. They are shallower at the center of the plate and slightly deeper at the outer edge of the platewhere the liquid is discharged into grooves cut in the bed plate of the; press from which the liquid finds its. way into a receptacle under the bed plate of the press.

- The liquid extract obtainedfrom these several percolations and from the pressing of the hops is then put into an evaporating. pan or jacketed'stilL'. and a degree of heat (60 C.) sufflcient only to evaporate all the solvent is applied.

After finding by analysis the amount 01' tannin.v and lupulin which the extract contains. I carefully measure, weigh, observe its degree oi liquidity, and by an observation of its specific gravity, etc., and by applying the same teststo subsequent lots manufactured, I secure uniformity in such subsequent lots by the addition of an amount of alcohol, glyceryl laurate and tanning sufiicient to secure such uniformity. The extract thus prepared is thensealed in tin cans or glass contaim ers and is preserved indefinitely in that form until required for use. fwhatlclaimisz w 1. A process-for extractingthe essential principles of hops consisting in finely pulverizing and crushing the entiremassof hops. multaneously liberating the hop seed oil content of the seeds and the hop oil from the hop blossom leayes, and

oommingling the hop on with the hopsee'don to retard or stop evaporation oi the hop oil and aroma, recovering a large percentage of hop-oil, and submitting the pulverized hops to the action oi. acetonein a closed chamber.

2. A process for extracting the essential principles ofhops, consisting inmixing acetone as a solvent with the powdered hops to soften the resinous hardened lupulin and to recover inavailable extract form a large percentage-oi lupulin andthe resinswhich it contains,

. 3. A process for extracting the essential principles of hops, consisting in submitting the hops to acetone in a closed container for a period of time, and subsequently using percolation, and thereafter applying mechanical pressure to the hops. whereby to recover a large percentage of the volatilehop 011.

4. A process for extracting the essential principles of hops consisting in utilizing the action of acetone as a solvent, adding" activated carbon, conveying the hops in a closed container to a press, and applying sufiicient pressure to express from the hops all of the essential principles of hops desired and necessary in brewing.

5. A process for extracting the essential principles of hops, consisting in pulverizing the" hops, adding activated. carbon, mixing with the powdered hops acetone as a solvent in a closed con tainer for the required period of time, obtaining a substantial portion of the extract by percolation, and thereafter applying sufiicient pressure.

to express from the hops all of the extract contained in the hops, whereby to produce an extract containing the. same percentage or proportions of op oil, lupulin tannin and hop seed oil as are found in fresh hops.

6. A process for extracting the essential principles of hops, consisting in pulverizing the hops,

adding activated carbon in the proportion of substantially one-fourth ounce of activated carbon 'to each pound-of pulverized hops, mixing with? the powdered hops acetone as a solvent a. closed container for the required period of time, obtaining a substantial portion of the extract by percolation, and thereafter applying sufilcient pressure to express from the-hops all of the ex-' tract therein, whereby to produce an extract containing thesame percentage or proportion of hop oil, lupulin, tannin and hop seed oil, as are found in fresh hops.

7. A process for extracting the essential principles of hops, consisting in pulverizing the'hops, mixing acetone with the pulverized hops in a: closedcontainer for the required period of time. obtaining a Substantial portion of the extract by percolation, thereaiter applying sufiicient pressure to express from the hops all of the extract contained therein, adding activated carbon in the proportion of one-fourth'ounce of activated carbon to each pint of extract, permitting it to slowly settle, and after a period of from two to four hours, separating the carbon and extract by filtration or siphoning. whereby to produce an extract containing the same proportions of hop oil, lupulin, tannin and hop seed oil as are foun in fresh-hops.

8. Acold process of extracting the essential principles ofjhops,-consisting in finely pulverizing and crushing the entire mass of hops, simultaneously liberating the hop seed oil content of the seeds and the hop oil from the hop blossoms and leaves and mixing the hop oil with the hop seed oil to retard the evaporation of the hop oil and aroma, and applying a solvent to the mass, said process being use of heat. I

LYNDON D. WOOD.

carried through without the 

